December 2001
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A PLACE TO SLEEP Reviewed by Lynne Lamberg |
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This engaging book taps a child's natural curiosity
about where animals great and small like to sleep. Each two-page spread
of this oversized book poses a question about a different animal's
preferred place of rest. A turn of the page divulges the answer, and
presents another animal and a new challenge. Caldecott Honor-winning artist Holly Meade's text
demands a leisurely and dramatic reading. Some lines are tongue-twisters:
"Where might this sleek seal sleep at the end of an underwater
day?" One delightful feature: the type swims, scampers, wiggles,
or wags across the pages, mimicking the motion of the featured creature. Each animal makes its first appearance in a colorful
collage. When readers turn the page, they'll find a black-and-white
silhouette that depicts each animal's resting place. Readers will
learn that elephants sleep standing up, and that fish sleep with eyes
open. Except for a jack-rabbit and denizens of the sea,
each image is shown with a nighttime background. The opportunity was
missed here to differentiate diurnal and nocturnal animals, though
parents can raise this issue themselves when looking at the mouse.
The images of a dog and a cat could trigger a discussion about who
naps and when. In the final scenes, a boy and a girl ready themselves for sleep in "beds clean and soft, under covers and with kisses." In their dreams, they frolic with the animals that populate the preceding pages. |
Copyright (c) 2001
Websciences |